Hood latch



Mmh 1o, 1942. s. DE oRLow 2,275,740

HOOD LATCH Filed Jan.A 10, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 v K A /20 Il# f6 /0 I I 'l` all 12"; /76 75` a I Il 50- 7a l l I 7] az 3 i6 6" 74 5 727; I E 74 40 Q Il 66 i4 ll if QQ L l ff as 4 g2g 36 l @E 2s I u l i in 52 /j I A e5 54 o Q'. 4 i2 7 M' @155.1 v g l m W5' j 'E' l Gttotngg 'March 1o, l1942. s. 'DE ORLQW Y 2,275,740

HOOD LATCH K Filed Jan. 1o, 1941 2 sheets-snee; 2

2 if" IHM/* nventor Gttornegs Patented Mar. 10, 1942 HOOD LATCH f Stephen De Orlow, Jackson, Mich., assignor to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Application January 10, 1941, Serial No. 873,929

2 Claims. (Cl. 292-306) This invention relates to latches used to hold down the hinged door of the hood of an automotive vehicle.

The specific novelty of the inventionv resides in retaining a pilot pin on the hood either by With upstanding ears 40 and between the ears a means of a hardened pawl which grips into the pin 42 is secured. On the pin there are turnably side of the pilot pin, or by means of a wedging mounted the bearing parts 44 of a hardened steel roller. The pilot pin is rotatable and a at pawl 46 the inner edge 48 of which is sharp. thereon may be caused to mate with the pawl or In the position of the pin 38 shown in Figure 2 with the roller to render the pawl or the roller l0 the pawl engages in the side of the pin to hold inactive to enable the pin to be withdrawn and itin the position shown. A suitably shaped coil to enable the hood to be raised. The pin is spring 50 is positioned around the pin V42and has turnable by means of a suitable linkage operable its ends 52 in contact with the plate 24 and the from the usual ornament at the front of the pawl 46 and constantly urges the pawl tor the hood door. dotted line position shown in Figure 2.

On the drawings At the top `of the opening 36 a wear member Figure l is a side view of a part of an automoor stamping 54 is positioned and this stamping tive vehicle showing the invention applied and has-an oval-shaped opening as is best seen in showing the hood door in raised position in dot- Figure 4. y ted outline. At the underside of the *front part 22 of the Figure 2 is a transverse sectional View through hood door there is a transverse plate 56 to which the hood and hood door showing the pilot pin there is secured the coil spring 58. One end of and the manner in which itis retained in latched the spring is threaded through an opening 60 position. The dotted outline shows the position in the plate 56, and a' nger 62 bent from the of the pawl when the flat on the pin mates with plate is pressed onto the end of the coil spring the pawl, l to hold it in place. The bottom end of the coil Figures 3 and 4 are sections on the lines 3 3 spring 58 nts-Over the `protuberance 26. The and 4-4 of Figure 2. The dotted outline in Figspring serves as an anti-rattle member and also ure 3 shows the position of the parts when the acts slightly to raise the hood when the pawl 46 at mates with the pawl. is released from the pin 38.

Figure 5 is a sectional View showing the de- The Din 33 has a pointed 6nd 54 t0 guide it into tail of the linkage which operates the pilot pin. the Opening in the Stamping 54- The pin iS alsO Figure 6 is a plan View of a part of the Ornaprovided with a flat 66 which is adapted at times ment showing the stop to limit the movement t0 mate With the pawl 46A 120 render' the DaWl inof the ornament. active. The dotted line position of the parts in Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure 2 of a Figures2 and 4 shows the pin 38 rotated yto cause modcation. the flat 66 to mate with the sharp edgev 48.v of the Figures 8 and 9 are sections on lines 8 8 and pawl, and .when the flat 66 and the pawl 46 mate 9-9 of Figure 7. the pawl will'be out of engagement with the pin Referring to the drawings, the numeral 2 in- 40 and enable the pin 38 to be withdrawn from the dicates an automotive vehicle as a whole. The Opening 36 in the bracket 28. vehicle has the front door 4 with the window 6 The transverse plate 56 is provided with an therein. The usual V-shaped windshield is inopening 68 through which there extends the neck dicated at8 and the cowl at I0. 'I'he stationary 70 0f a Stamping l2. The neck 10 acts as a bearhood side is indicated at I2 and the usual grille 45 ing for the bearing Dart 'I3 0f the pin 38L The in front of the radiator is indicated at I4. The stamping 'l2 has a bottom flange which fits on hood door I6 is of the alligator type and is the undersideof the plate 56 and is secured hinged at its rear end by means of the hinges I8. thereto by means of the rivets 14. A shoulder 'I6 An ornament 26 of any suitable type is posion the pin 38 abuts against the underside of the tioned at the front end 22 of the hood door I6. 50 flange on the stamping l2. K

Under the front end 22 of the hood door, the The upper end of the pin 38 is reduced as inhood has secured thereto a transverse pan or dicated at 'I8 and the reduced end has a collar plate 24 and this plate is provided with an up- 86 fastened thereto by means of a pin 82. To y wardly projecting protuberance 26- and also has the other end of the.v collar 80 there is secured a. bracketV 28 secured thereto byV meansof the 55 thefshaft-840fl aglinkage'indcated asa WhOle at ears 38 and 32 and the rivets 34. One end of the termed an opening 36 for reception of a pilot pin 38. The other end of the bracket is formed 86 (see Figure 5). The upper end of the shaft 84 is mounted in a bearing 88 in a bracket 90 secured to the front end 22 of the hood door |6. An arm 92 has at one end an eye 94 rigidly secured to the shaft 84, and into an eye 96 at the other end there is secured the hook end 98 of a link The other end of the link is turned at right angles and is received in an eye |04 of an arm |06, the end |08 of which is rigidly secured to the shaft ||0, mounted in a bearing ||2 formed in a fixture |I4 secured to the top of the front end 22 of the hood door I6. The end of the shaft ||0 is perfectly polygonal and is suitably secured to the ornament 20. Theornament 20 is turnable to rotate the shaft |||J.v A coil spring l5 is positioned around the shaft |0 and has one end ||6 hooked around the arm |06 and the other end ||8 positioned in a recess in the fixture ||4. The spring ||5 always urges the parts to the closed or latched position as shown in Figures 2 and 4.

Referring to Figure 6, it will be seen that the end of the ornament 20 has a beveled end |20 which mates with a beveled end |22 on the fixture I4. The structure of the edges |20, |22 will limit the movement of the ornament and when the parts are in engagement as shown in Figure 6, the ornament will be in its normal position and the hood door |6 latched.

The operation of the structure is as follows: The latched position of the parts is shown in Figures 2 and 4. If the operator desires to raise the hood he will grasp the ornament 20 and rotate it to cause the shaft |0to move the linkage. This movement will be communicated by the arm |06 to the link |00, to the arm 92, and then to the shaft 84. This movement will rotate the pin 38 and cause the flat 66 thereon to mate with the edge 48 of the pawl 46. When the flat 66 mates with the edge 48 the pawl edge will be inactive or out of contact with the pin. The spring 58 will then cause the hood door slightly to be raised and by placing the ngers underneath the edge of the front end 22 of the door, the door may be raised. After the pin 38 is out of engagement with the pawl 46 the ornament 20 may be returned to its normal position as shown in Figure l. When the operator closes the hood door the pointed end 64 of the pilot pin will enter the opening in the stamping 54 and the opening 36 in the bracket 28. Due to the fact that the pawl 46 may move on its bearings 44 the pin will push the pawl to the full line position shown in Figure 2 and thereafter any effort to raise the hood will now be resisted by the pawl because the sharp edge 48 will dig into the side of the pin 38.

In Figures 7, 8, and 9, a modification of the structure is shown. The pin 38 is essentially the same but is slightly more elongated. The bracket 28' is shaped somewhat differently and the stamping 54 also has a different shape, but parts 28' and 54 are in the same relative position. Insteadv ofthe pawl 46 of Figure 2 a roller 46 'is used. This roller is mounted on a bracket |24 pivoted by means ofthe pin |26 to the ears 40' on the bracket 28'. A coil spring |21 has one end positioned against the stamping 54' and the other end in an opening |28 in the bracket |24 and always urges the right hand end (Figures '7 and 9) of the bracket |24 in a downward position and the opposite end of the bracket in an upward direction. The pawl 46 has end trunnions |30 journaled in the ends of the bracket 124 and these journals travelin slots |32 formed in the bracket 28. In the position of the parts shown in Figure 7, the hood door is in latched position, and any effort to raise the hood door will only cause a greater wedging between the roller 46 and the side of the pilot pin 38.

The pilot pin 38 has a flat 66 thereon and by rotating the pin by the linkage mechanism 86 shown in Figure 5, the flat 66 may be caused to mate with the roller and when they are in mating position the roller 46 is inactive or can no longer hold the pin in position. The hood door may then be raised.

A spring |40 of the rat trap type has one end |42 secured by means of a clip |46 to the plate 24 while the other end |48 is formed into a loop and is freeand presses against the underside of the flange 12 of the stamping 10 when the hood door is in lowered position. When the pin 38' is rotated to cause the fiat 66 to mate with the roller 46' so that the hood door may be raised, the spring |40 presses upwardly on the hood door and tends to raise it slightly so that the ngers of the operator may be placed under the door to raise it. The spring |40 also functions to prevent rattle of the parts.

If desired, the bracket |24 may be omitted and a coil spring, or coil springs, placed under the roller 46 constantly to urge it in an upward direction. Or, instead of a roller urged upwardly by coil springs, a latch with a sharp lip may be used. Both the roller and the latch would be provided with trunnions riding in inclined slots.

Instead of the linkage 86, an arm may be used and have its end extend through the grille I4. By either pulling the arm or moving it laterally, the pins 38 or 38' can be caused to turn.

I claim:

1. A latch for a door of al hood or the like of an automotive vehicle comprising a bracket having means for mounting it on the hood and an upstanding portion, a pilot pin, means for turnably mounting said pin on said door, means for turning said pin, said upstanding portion of the bracket having an opening adapted to receive said pin and being formed with parallel spaced upstanding ears, and a rigid pawl pivotally mounted on and between said ears and having a sharp edge which is adapted to project into said opening, said pawl being biased so that said sharp edge constantly tends to project into said opening, said pin having a substantially smooth side wall portion for engagement by the sharp edge of said pawl when the pin is turned into its operative position for locking said door, said pin also having a recessed side portion arranged for mating with the sharp edge of said pawl so as to prevent engagement of the pin by said sharp edge when the pin is turned into its inoperative position to enable withdrawal of the pin from said opening, and the side wall of said opening opposite said pawl providing a rm lateral support for said pin when it is engaged by the sharp edge of said pawl.

2. A latch for a door of an automotive vehicle, said latch comprising a sheet metal bracket having a base portion for mounting it on the vehicle and spaced upstanding ears bent from said base portion, a pilot pin, means for turnably mounting said pin on said door, means operable from the exterior of the vehicle for turning said pin, said bracket having an upstanding portion formed with an opening adapted to receive said pin when said door'is in its closed position, a rigid pawl pivotally mounted on and between said ears and having a sharp edge which is adapted ranged for mating with the sharp edge of said pawl so as to prevent `engagement of the pin by said sharp edge when the pin is turned into its inoperative position toenable withdrawal of the pin from said opening and consequently opening of said door, and the side Wall of said opening opposite said paWl providing a rm lateral suport for said pin when it is engaged by the sharp edge of said pawl.

STEPHEN DE ORLOW. 

